Viewpoints towards art and artists change... Interesting short from "The
Writer's Almanac":
Today is the anniversary of the official opening of the Eiffel Tower in
Paris (1889). It was built for the International Exhibition of Paris,
commemorating the centenary of the French Revolution. At the time, it was
the tallest structure ever built, at 1,000 feet. The architect Gustave
Eiffel was a specialist in bridges and the design for the Eiffel Tower was
based on his previous bridge designs. He chose to leave the tower's skeletal
structure exposed because it was the easiest way to protect it from wind
resistance.
When it was finished many Parisians thought it was horribly ugly. Artists
and writers wrote a letter of protest, calling the tower a "truly tragic
street lamp," a "mast of iron gymnasium apparatus, incomplete, confused and
deformed."
The writer Guy de Maupassant described the Eiffel Tower as, "A high and
skinny pyramid of iron ladders, [a] giant ungainly skeleton upon a base that
looks built to carry a colossal monument of Cyclops, but which just peters
out into a ridiculous thin shape like a factory chimney." He hated the tower
so much that he started eating in its restaurant every day, because, he
said, "It is the only place in Paris where I don't have to see it."
It was almost torn down in 1909, after the expiration of its lease, but the
city saved it because its antenna was so useful for the new invention of
radio. It's now the most widely recognized symbol of Paris.
Tom C.
From: "Tom C" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Reply-To: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: PESO - Dash
Date: Fri, 31 Mar 2006 09:28:45 -0700
Thanks Boris, I didn't think about it in gray-scale but I may give it a
shot. I like her brown eyes. Maybe I'll convert it, but leave her eyes
brown...
The lens was the 31mm f/1.8 LTD. I was laying on my stomach in the snow to
get down to her level and was tossing handfuls of snow every few seconds to
get her to keep turning towards me.
Tom C.
From: Boris Liberman <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Reply-To: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: PESO - Dash
Date: Fri, 31 Mar 2006 15:16:13 +0200
Hi!
I went for a walk with our Border Collie last weekend. It's rare she
goes on a walk with just me and without our other dog (the alpha).
Anyway...
http://www.photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=4279519
Tom, what do you say about b/w conversion? It is a nice shot but I
particularly dislike the bluish-emeraldish kind on top of the image. What
lens was used, could you tell us please?
As for the details - the big print would be necessary to fully ascertain
that. As it is - it is well done and well presented.
Boris
